The Scottish Fishermen's Federation was formed in 1973 to preserve and promote the collective interests of Fishermen's Associations. The Federation plays an active role in advancing the interests of Scottish fishermen at national and international levels by lobby government officials in Edinburgh, London and Brussels. The Federation also plays an important role in helping to inform: fisheries science; marine environment management; inshore fisheries management; marine safety regulations; and industry training/recruitment programmes.

The Federation has eight constituent Association members: Anglo-Scottish Fishermen's Association; Clyde Fishermen's Association; Fishsalesmen's Association (Scotland) Limited; Mallaig and North-West Fishermen's Association; Orkney Fisheries Association; Scottish Pelagic Fishermen's Association Limited; Scottish White Fish Producer's Association Limited; and Shetland Fisherman's Association.

Federation activities are directed by the fifteen members of its Executive Committee. The Executive Committee meets every three months to discuss current/upcoming issues and to develop Federation policy. Decisions are reached, in default of unanimous agreement, by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting. Current Association representation on the Executive Committee is summarised below (Table 1).

The Executive Committee recently appointed Mr Ian Gatt as President of the Federation and Mr David Shiel and Mr James Brown as joint Vice Presidents. All play active roles as Federation figureheads Note from the President.

The Executive Committee also oversees four specialist sub-committees: Resource and Policy; Science and Environment; Inshore; and Marine Safety and Personnel. All sub-committees meet quarterly, ahead of Executive Committee meetings. Current sub-committee office bearers are listed below (Table 2).

Please visit our News and/or Diary page to keep up-to-date on Federation activities.